Motivations for second-hand consumption : a study of second-hand consumers in Oslo

Master’s Thesis 2020 30 ECTS The Faculty of Landscape and Society

Motivations for second-hand consumption:

A study of second-hand consumers in Oslo

Anna Löfvenius

Master of Science in International Environmental Studies

Declaration

I, Anna Löfvenius, declare that this thesis is a result of my research investigations and

findings. Sources of information other than my own have been acknowledged and a reference list has been appended. This work has not been previously submitted to any other university for award of any type of academic degree.

Signature………

Date………

Acknowledgements

I wish to express my gratitude and thank everyone who has helped and supported me through this time. It’s been one of the most challenging and toughest task of my life. Although not satisfied, I am very proud of what I have accomplished. I want to thank my supervisor Arild Vatn for the encouragement and inspiration.

I’ve also been lucky to have the support of my family, friends and partner. They never stopped believing in me.

I want to thank all participants taking part of this study, though hard times with social restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they took the time to follow through with my interviews.

Abstract

The clothing industry today is described as one of the most environmental pollution industries, and concern regards mass-consumption is rising on the global agenda.

In the last years, second-hand clothes and products have been receiving more attention and demands, and in line with this demand, ethical and sustainable consumption has also increased.

The aim of this study was to contribute to the understanding of consumers motivation and rationalization towards second-hand clothing and the clothing industry.

This study is using a qualitative research method to explore these motivations among second-hand consumers in Oslo, Norway. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with consumers of second-hand clothes as well as workers within second-hand markets. Both theories within the economic discipline, the social science and social

phycology where used to interoperate the findings and to understand drivers behind human consumption.

There are various drivers of motivation for second-hand consumption. Empirical findings from this study show that reuse of products in consideration of environmental and social aspects where the highest drive for purchasing second-hand clothes. Also, economic motivations of making a “good deal” and motivation in regards of the personal style were finding from this study.

List of Figures

Figure 1: Hierarchical value map

Figure 2: Norm-activation theory Schwartz (1973)

List of Tables

Table 1: Sustainable consumption and lifestyle definition (Thidell, 2014 s:5)

Table of Content

1. Introduction ... 2

1.2 Problem statement ... 2

1.2. Objectives, Research Question ... 2

2. Thematic Background and conceptual frameworks ... 3

2.1 Clothing industry and the fast fashion market ... 3

2.1.1 Planned Obsolescence and fast fashion markets ... 3

2.1.2 Environmental social cost of Fast fashion ... 4

2.2 Sustainable Consumption... 5

2.2.1 The Marrakech Process ... 6

2.1 Previous studies on the second hand market ... 7

3. Methodology: Explanation and justification ... 9

3.1 Research Design ... 9

3.2 Location / study area ... 9

3.3 Method of Sampling ... 10

3.4 Interview guide and laddering technique ... 11

3.5 Method of analysis ... 12

3.7 Limitation and challenges ... 13

3.7.1 Validity and reliability ... 14

4. Theories and Frameworks ... 15

4.1 Theories of motivation and human action ... 15

4.1.1 The individualistic approach ... 15

4.1.1.1 Rational choice model ... 15

4.1.1.2 Consumer Preference theory ... 16

4.1.1.3 Theory of reasoned Action and theory of planned behaviour ... 17

4.1.2 Social constructive approach ... 19

4.2.1 Bounded Rationality ... 19

4.2.2 Social Rationality ... 20

4.2.2.1 ”We” and ”they” Rationality ... 20

4.2.3 Norm-activation theory ... 20

4.2.4 Value-Belief-Norm theory ... 23

5. Finding and Analysis ... 24

5.1 Pattern 1: Economic motivation and less buying/consumption practices ... 24

5.2 Pattern 2: Environmental and social justice concerns ... 26

5.3 Pattern 3: Anti Fast Fashion and mass production ... 28

5.4 Pattern 4: Identity, style and communication ... 30

5.5 Pattern 5: Accomplishments / Doing what is right ... 31

6. Discussion ... 33

6.1 Answering the Research questions ... 33

7. Conclusions ... 35

8. Reference list ... 36

9. Appendix ... 40

9.1 Interview Guide Consumers - English ... 40

9.2 Interview Guide Consumers – Swedish/Norwegian ... 43

9.3 Interview Guide ”Experts”/working in/with Second Hand ... 45

9.4 List of Interviews ... 46

9.4 Hierarchical Value Map ... 48

1.

Introduction

1.2 Problem statement

The world today is facing some severe environmental concerns in how we live off, use and see the environment. According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) in the past 50 years, 60% of the world’s ecosystems have been depleted. This has created some

enormous challenges for the future to come to be able to improve a good and healthy way for us to live in balance with nature. As the world is seeing a rapid change towards globalization and socioeconomic transformations, with a fast-growing middle class and higher demand on products than ever before. Consumption of natural resources is thereby expected to rise by three to six times by the year 2050 (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). The need for a new way of reflecting on both business practices and our personal consumption patents is needed to be able to put less stress on our natural environment and its resources we depend upon.

Mass-consumption of clothes is an important aspect to consider, the $2 trillion industry is the second most polluting industry after oil and is responsible for 10% of the global carbon footprint. It also contributes to other negative environmental effects such as water pollution, toxic chemicals and high levels of textile waste and poor working conditions for millions of workers in the industry (Perry P, 2018).

1.2. Objectives, Research Question

The objectives of this study aim to get an understanding of how people relate to consumption of clothes. What motivates people to shop second-hand, how and if consumption patterns and habits change with a more sustainable alternative for purchasing of clothes.

The research will, therefore, seek to explore and investigate the following questions:

RQ 1:

What is the motivation of consumers to purchase clothes second-hand?

When addressing my research question concerning consumer motivation, both relationships between practical and social motivations will be considered. In the practical aspect, price, quality, location (accessibility) will be examined whereas with social motivation the

2. Thematic Background and conceptual frameworks

In this section a thematic background of the clothing industry will be given. This is done to understand and put in perspective the environmental issues that comes along with this massive industry. Shift towards mass-consumption and the business model of fast fashion will then be given as well as the strategy of planned obsolescence.

I will also address the term of sustainable consumption and go through some of the previous studies conducted within second-hand consumption.

2.1 Clothing industry and the fast fashion market

After food, textile is taking the second place as one of the substantial desires of human life.

As one of the oldest industries in the world, textile today does not only fulfill people's basic necessity for clothing, but also allow individuals to make statements about one self (Madhav et al, 2018).

The price of clothing has been falling over the last 150 years when the Industrial Revolution had it break through. When mass production started to spread globally and industries were outsourced to countries with minimal regulations and cheaper production, together with the increase in consumption, prices dropped even lower.

Becker et al (2018) writes in an article in Environmental Health that globally, 80 billion pieces of new clothing are purchased each year. Most of these products are produced in China and Bangladesh while the western countries stand for a majority of the consumption (Brick et al, 2018).

2.1.1 Planned Obsolescence and fast fashion markets

The clothing industry is today getting a increased global focus for it’s environmental

pollution way of operating. Despite this attention, the industry is continuing to grow. This is partly because of the rise of fast fashion, that relies on cheap production and a frequent continued consumption practices (Niinimäki et al., 2020).

Fast fashion is a supply chain model within the clothing industry. The model respond quickly to the latest trends within fashion and frequently update the clothing production accordingly. Fast fashion a way to “normalize” fashion away from expensive high fashion brands and make pieces available to all, for a cheaper price (Zamania et al., 2017).

Big commercial retailers like H&M and Zara have adopted the term and are introducing new lines of clothes as the latest trend ever third to fifth week. With this rapid circulation of clothings the practical life of the product is very short and easy replaced by the next trend in line. With the low price and fast rotation of fast fashion items, the clothes is not always taken care of properly and gets disposed without much reflections behind it (ibid).

This type of business strategy is called planned obsolescence, in which a product is produced and deliberative designed and manufactured with a shortened lifespan. This by making them easier worned out or broken, non-functional or unfashionable. This will lead to consumers feeling a need to purchase a new product or service that the manufacture/business create to replace the old ones. (The Economist, 2009).

If we look back a century ago, the fashion industry as well as many other industrial businesses aimed to produce quality in their goods and items that were long lasting. This was good in the sense of consumer being satisfied with the quality of the product, but not as good for the on going business that did not get the high demand of their items.

By changing fashion styles frequently, consumers are encouraged to buy new items although their existing wardrobe may work perfectly. Consumers acting upon such trend variations (updating to the latest trends) will indirectly contribute to a society built on planned obsolescence.

2.1.2 Environmental social cost of Fast fashion

According to McKineys & Quantis (2018) report, the State of Fashion, an average person by 60% more clothes than 15 years ago. At the same time we only keep the clothes half as long period of time. The report further explain that the industry produces 8-10 % of the global CO2 emissions and that as much as three-fifths of all clothing ends up as waste within a year of being produced, either in incinerators or landfills.

The clothing industry has a long and complex supply chain. At each stage, different types of environmental externalities can be found. Water and chemical use during growing cotton and other material, here it's estimated that 79 trillion liter per year is being used. Cotton has the highest water footprint of any fashion fibre and around half of the cotton that is grown is an export commodity of foreign demand, putting pressure on local-water-use in countries with scarce water resources (ibid). Beyond the water use, around 20% of the worlds industrial

dyeing, bleaching and printing. With these toxic chemicals entering local groundwater, it can have devastating effects of entire ecosystems and human health (Niinimäki et al., 2020).

The high carbon footprint of the industry come from high energy use, and is influenced by the source of this energy. In China, India and Bangladesh, countries that stand for a lot of the textile manufacturers in the world, the production is dependent on coal-based energy.

Apart from energy, high demand of CO2 emissions is also associated with transportation, consumer use (laundering) and fiber extraction. The last goes especially for synthetic fibres, such as acrylics, as the fiber originate from fossil fuel (ibid).

The fast increase in clothing production and consumption has resulted in high volumes of textile waste, both pre-consumption and post-consumption. Pre-consumer waste can be production waste at the manufacturing site and in recent years so called “deadstocks”. This reference to unworn, returned and unsold clothes that gets designated as waste. Post- consumer textile waste turnover is rapid. Globally, it accounts for 22% of the waste in the world and the textile-recycling rates is only about 15% (Nørup et al, 2019; EMF, 2019). Only a small amount of the western countries post-consumer clothing ends up at local second hand venues or shops. Traditionally old clothing is exported to developing countries, but the rapid flow of textile waste threaten developing countries domestic textile production. Some developing countries are now banning import of second-hand clothing to protect local production (Niinimäki et al., 2020).

2.2 Sustainable Consumption

One of the first definitions of the concepts sustainable consumption was introduced in Oslo 1994 in line with the Brundtland commission of “sustainable development” and includes both consumption practices and the production in itself. The meaning and definition of the

sustainable consumption concept has evolved over time and certain aspects have been added, but the core meaning still goes in the lines with the Brundtland commission (Thidell, 2014).

The United Nations Environment Programme description of the concept:

“(Sustainable production and consumption is) the use of goods and services that respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life, while minimizing the use of natural resources, toxic materials and emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle, so as not to

jeopardize the needs of future generations.” (UNEP, 2010).

Listed as nr 12, you also find “Sustainable consumption and production” in the UN

Sustainable development goals (SDG). In this particular area focus to understand the forces that drives consumption patterns around the world. As one of the greatest global challenges today is to be able to fully integrate environmental sustainability with economic growth and welfare. Resource decoupling and impact decoupling (decoupling environmental degradation from economic growth) are needed to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns to make a transition towards a greener global society and doing less with more (UNEP, 2018).

Sustainable consumption is often seen as a concept mirroring the production side. While sustainable production has a production and upstream perspective searching opportunities to alter related activities in a more sustainable direction, sustainable consumption is directed to how and why goods and services are demanded, used and consumed. Sustainable

consumption is thus geared towards the needs and wants that the production side is supposed to fulfill (Thidell, 2014). Therefore, it is also very important to understand individual and household belief systems to help motivate the selection and design of more sustainable products. In this context, it is important to realize that the mechanistic understanding of how pollutants are generated includes not only the production process but also social, economic and political choices and the impact of consumption and population (ibid).

Consumer behaviour is key to the impact that society has on the environment. The actions that people take and choices they make – to consume certain products and services or to live in certain ways, all have direct and indirect impacts on the environment. It also

impacts on a personal and collective well-being (Jackson, 2005).

2.2.1 The Marrakech Process

The Marrakech Process is a global multi-stakeholder process that is run by e United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). The process was started to support the development of a sustainable consumption and production framework. The work from the Marrakech process has defined some key concepts within the field:

“Sustainable consumption is related to the process of purchasing, consuming and disposing of products, while sustainable lifestyles comprise a broader set of activities and values, such as interactions and education, which include, but are not limited to material consumption.

Lifestyles serve as “social conversations”, in which people differentiate themselves from other people, signal their social position and psychological aspirations. Since many of the signals are mediated by goods, lifestyles are closely linked to material and resource flows in the society.

Sustainable lifestyles are patterns of action and consumption, used by people to affiliate and differentiate themselves from others, which: meet basic needs, provide a better quality of life, minimise the use of natural resources and emissions of waste and pollutants over the lifecycle, and do not jeopardise the needs of future generations”. Sustainable lifestyles should reflect specific cultural, natural, economic and social heritage of each society”.

Table 1: Sustainable consumption and lifestyle definition (Thidell, 2014 s:5)

2.1 Previous studies on the second-hand market

In Klepp and Laitala (2018) paper, “Motivations for and against second-hand clothing acquisition” they present a variation of previous studies done on second-hand clothing that is interesting for this paper. They explain that a common view of consumers motivation for buying second-hand clothing has been that they have economic or hedonic reasons for their choice of clothing, found in studies conducted by (Williams and Windebank, 2005 &

Christiansen and Snepenger, 2005). Klepp and Laitala (2018) further describe that economic reasons for shopping second hand appear as a more important motivation, but that studies done by Bardhi and Arnould, 2005, Gregson and Crewe, 2003, Williams and Windebank, 2005 show that the economic and hedonic reasons often tend to co-exist.

The different hedonic motives that have been identified in other studies describe

motivation of second hand consumption as the goal of being unique, finding a specific style and as a sort if treasure hunting for clothing at a bargain price (Cassidy and Bennett, 2012;

Ekström et al., 2012; Henriksson and Kechalanlo, 2010).

Other studies by Brace-Govan and Binay, 2010, Roux and Korchia, 2006 referred to by Klepp and Laitala (2018) describe that consumers buy second hand clothing to reflect

personal values within themself. This can be environmental and ethical considerations, recycling behaviors, avoiding mainstream fashion and anti-consumption attitudes.

Second-hand markets can have meaningful environmental implications. A study

conducted by Yan, Bae and Wu (2015) complement these studies and state that second-hand markets will reduce consumers demand for new goods as long as there is a supply of used products available. This is supported as well from Farrant et al (2010) study that collected data from 200 consumers in Scandinavia on second-hand consumption.

3. Methodology: Explanation and justification

In this chapter I will present the research strategy and design for this study. I will also explain the location of the study area as well as the method of sampling, how the interview guide was built and how the data was collected. Furthermore, the method of analyzing the data will be explained. Lastly, the validity, reliability and limitation for this study will be presented.

3.1 Research Design

For this paper I chosen to conduct a research around the topic of second hand, in a context of consumer motivation and effect of second-hand consumption in an environmental aspect. To explore the aim of this paper and to answer my research questions I used an inductive

qualitative research design. This was chosen to uncover the information concerning motivation and values of the selected second-hand consumers.

A qualitative research design provides more influence by interpretivism, that focus attention and importance of the individual’s context in order to get a deeper understanding (Bryman, 2016). This type of research design put more emphasis on the words gathered from interviews in contrast to a quantitative research design where the aim lies within the

quantification of information. (ibid).

3.2 Location / study area

I choose to conduct my research on consumption of sustainable clothing in Oslo, Norway.

The reason for this is that it is a surrounding I am familiar with, and where I have during the last couple of years been observing growing interest and more and more venues of Second- hand fashion. Therefore, I was curious to explore this further and interested to explore the motivation behind sustainable shopping practices, such as second-hand shopping among people in Oslo. This also had practical benefits as I am familiar with the language, therefore I would not require any translators, but also to the culture and norms of the study area. I saw the upside to do the research in a bigger city, where a more vibrant community of fashion and stores is available.

One second hand market I’ve decided on for this study is called The Fashion archives.

This is Oslo’s largest indoor second-hand, vintage and design market and is hosted at Kulturhuset once a month. My aim was to visit the venue two to three times to talk with people and recruit participants for my interviews.

The second location I requite respondent’s for my interview was a Fretex store in Prisen’s gate, in the central of Oslo.

3.3 Method of Sampling

To collect the dada for this study I’ve chosen to conduct a generic purposive sampling as a method. Here the subject (in this study motivations for second-hand consumption) in the heart of the sampling considerations. The sampling is conducted purposely to get the right respondents for the scope of this study. Therefore, it was essential to tie the respondent to known specific second-hand markets, store or events. I focused on recruiting people for my interviews at the second-hand market Fashion Archives and a Fretex store in Oslo. I

approached the individuals either in person at the venue or by e-mail following the recommendation from previous interviewers or the Fashion Archives managers.

Reynolds and Gutman (1988) suggest that at least 20 people are to be included in one soft laddering sample, and for this study, 20 sustainable fashion consumers will be interviewed as well as 3 “expertise” interviews conducted with people working with second hand markets.

Under purposive sampling there were two different approaches I combined. The first being a typical case sampling, where using sampling of a case that comes from a dimension of interest. The second approach being opportunistic sampling, that builds on opportunities to collect data from certain people. Though these individuals can be unforeseen they still can provide relevant data for the study and research question (Bryman, 2016).

The majority of the respondents recruited for my interviews where women. I had 19 women and 4 men with an age range from 21 to 49 years.

Most of the interview where carried out in a place suggested by the interviewers, to make them feel as comfortable as possible. If they did not have any particular place of preference, I suggested different café’s in the city center of Oslo where I offered them any beverage of choice before starting the interview.

Due to the situation of the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions conducted by the

Norwegian Government on March 12^th 2020, I had to follow through some of the interviews planned via Skype. This because most cafés and bars were closed and social restriction made people that I had recruited not comfortable to meet out in a public space.

3.4 Interview guide and laddering technique

All the interviews held for this study followed a semi-structured interviewing approach.

Interviews in this approach are based on a semi-structured form of making an interview.

Thereby, the interviews are made in a way where the wording of the questions is flexible, and do not have to follow a strict line of format. The approach involves an interview guide, a list of questions or specific topics to be covered, the questions don’t necessarily have to be asked in the way the guide is outlined and will gives rom for other questions to be added depending on the interviewers replies (Berg & Lune 2012; Bryman, 2016).

The interview guide also follows a laddering technique. This is done on some of the most important questions for this study to get a deeper insight to their motivations. The technique takes on an in-depth interviewing used to develop understanding of consumers preference (Reynolds & Gutman, 1988). The technique is going to lead the participant to a higher level of questioning, that makes them go more in depth of reasons of their preferences within products. This is done by asking questions such as: “why is this important to you? What does it mean to you?”. With the goal of understanding the consequence (positive or negative) of the attribute of the product (for this study second-hand clothing) you continue to follow up with similar questions – to get deeper to the core meaning. The last step in the ladder is to uncover the personal values related to the product. This again is done by following up with

“why?” questions and adjust them after the answers given by the respondents (ibid).

I will give an example of how I built my laddering in some questions within my interview guide. To identify attribute of second-hand clothing I asked questions like: “Why did you choose to shop here? and Why do you choose to shop second-hand clothes?”.

To deeper questions about consequences and motivation “Why do you choose to buy second hand over a normal retail brand?” to further deeper this to get a understanding about

respondents values I asked questions like: “Why is that important to you?’ and ‘What does sustainable fashion mean to you?”. Through this process, interviewers can gain a deeper insight into the motivations and values behind consumer perceptions of a product (Reynolds And Gutman, 1988).

The interview questions were structured in a progressive manner starting from questions how they started shopping second hand, into questions about why they purchase second hand and then to their

general understanding of sustainability in fashion and clothing.

Before going through with the interviews, I started with getting the consent of our

informants which is an important ethical aspect of qualitative research. This I did by a written form that I let the participant sign. Due to circumstances that forced me to have some of the interviews by Skype, the consent where then given orally. This should be based on the freely given informed consent of the informant (Bryman, 2016)

All the interviews were conducted with sound recording. I tried to always transcribe the interviews the same day it was held. According to Bryman (2016) this should be done to not lose any essential value and to have everything “fresh” in the head for doing this. Recording and transcribing interviews have some advantages as a correction of the natural limitations of our memories, and to steer away any pre-made assumptions on what respondents are saying (Bryman, 2016, s:459).

3.5 Method of analysis

The laddering technique is not only a technique for interviewing, but also a tool for analyzing data. Laddering in related to means-end theory (see 4.1.1.4) and follow the logic of analyzing data according to attributes, consequences and values.

The first step in the analyzing process is to perform an analyze of the elements of the ladders in the interviews. This I did by defining statements and the answers given by from the follow up question. (Reynolds, 2006). In the next step a set of summary codes where

produced, witch where to summarizing and reflecting important answers mentioned. I did this though color coding the different answers I received from laddering questions. The

importance is to create categories that are broad enough to include more than one respondent, yet representative enough so that meaning is not lost (Reynolds, 2006). The codes are thirdly categorized into attributes, consequences, motivations and values. Considering that this research aim is to explore motivations for consuming second hand clothing, including social, cultural, emotional and cognitive motivations, this study incorporates not only tangible attributes but also intangible attributes. In the final stage, I designed a hierarchical value map (HVM) (figure 1) showing the different attributes, consequences and values found throughout the interviews and dividing it into five patterns that will make the analysis of this study.

The basis of this thesis will not solely be built on mean-end-chain theory but also theories within social science and social psychology (to extend the narrow scope of individualistic approaches). Other concepts arousing from the interviews interesting for this study will therefore also be taken account for that can help elaborate social aspects of motivation.

Figure 1: Hierarchical value map

3.7 Limitation and challenges

There has been some limitation and challenges alongside with this study that is necessary to mention. I employed qualitative study with a non-probability sample, for this the result of this study is not generalizable towards consumers second-hand clothing, nor the population of Norway or Oslo as a city. The aim of this study was instead to contribute to the understanding of consumers motivation and rationalization towards second-hand clothing and the clothing industry.

A limitation for this study is that the sampling of respondents was only collected at two second-hand venues. Even though it was two different venues, one being a market and one being a store, there is other popular venues, apps and webpages that could have been explored and perhaps give other types of finding than this study presents.

As mention in 3.3, because of current situation of Covid-19 restrictions in Norway some of the interviews were conducted via Skype. This is not an optimal platform for doing these types of interview, as you often don’t get the same connection with the participant and flow

of conversation. This was probably one of the biggest challenges during the process of this study. Especially when conducting a laddering interview, where you follow up on questions, that can feel a bit enjoying and challenging for both the respondent and the interviewer. I tried to do it to the best of my ability, so that the analyzing process that followed the same structure would still be possible to code. Instead I choose to not ask some questions from the interview guide that I consider to be of less importance.

3.7.1 Validity and reliability

The limited size in this study sampling group will have an effect on the type of interpretation of our data and findings. Although qualitative research does not aim to provide representative data, the size can matter in contribution to attitudes and perceptions of a groups of persons.

Bryman (2016) talks about this as problems that qualitative research faces.

Consider the uneven distribution of gender among the participants, only four where male and 19 females, have effects on the scope of validity of this study. The same goes for the age aspect, de age of participants is between 21-49 and therefore does not represent all age aspects of people purchasing clothes second hand.

Lastly, 21 of the interview where conducted in the native language of this study and three were held in English. As the results were translated to English when citing the respondents, it

can have interfered with the respondent intentionally meaning and therefore contribute to a flaw in the validity of these statements.

4. Theories and Frameworks

In this chapter I will present theories and frameworks used for this study. These will be of help to analyzing and discussion the findings from my interview.

4.1 Theories of motivation and human action

Relevant theories for this thesis concern motivation and human actions. Within this field we can find different forms of rationality that exist in our society. Vatn (2015, s:129) explain in his book “Environmental governance” the two core types of rationality; individual

rationality, that is only concerned what’s best for one self, and social rationality, which integrate the concerns about what’s best for the group.

For this assignment the theories can help reflection in how we act as humans, and the motivations existing in the choices that we do. How we shop in a store can reflect many aspects of rationality, it could be evaluation of the price and quality (what’s best for

yourself). Shopping habits can also reflect social influence one maybe not aware of (influence from friends, family, internet/commercials) or it can be determined by emphasis on

production methods and environmentally friendly concerns (goes beyond selfishness).

In the sections below, I will address these rationalities and different approaches to motivation and human action, both from economic, social science and social psychological perpectives. This will help understand which conscious and unconscious patterns exist when we as humans do the choices we do in our everyday life.

4.1.1 The individualistic approach

4.1.1.1 Rational choice model

The starting point when discussing models of consumer behaviour is usually what is called the “rational choice model”, that guides much of existing policies today. This model arouse for economic models/thinking and describes consumers to make decisions by calculating the individual costs and benefits of different course of action, choosing the option that maximises their utility (Scott, 2000).

A principle of the rational choice model is that human behaviour is a constant process of making deliberate choices between different course of action a person can take. The person then weigh up the expected benefits and cost of the actions, and then chooses the action

giving the highest utility or the lowest cost to us. Jackson (2005) explains that the process of determine these costs and benefits of different actions have two distinct components. The first is the expectations about the outcome of one’s choice and the second concern the evaluation of the outcome. Here Jackson (2005) give the example of a person traveling to work, and is faced with the choice to go by car or take public transportation. The person chooses to go by car because of the expectations (that the journey will be cheaper and shorter) and therefore give a positive evaluation of that choice.

There are several assumptions underlying the rational choice model; i) that preferences are rational - that people are able to rank their options consistently and choose the one that gives the highest benefit. ii) that people have the necessary information to make these rational choices iii) that they choose what they rank the best. Moreover this understanding of

rationality assumes that individual self-interest is the” appropriate” framework that influence our behaviours. iiii) consumer preferences are exclusive to the model of rationality, without considerations or further elaboration of one's origins or context (Vatn, 2015: Jackson, 2005).

The rational choice model have met a lot of critique from many disciplines. Research also from economists themselves raise serious doubts about whether people only think about themself in their actions. Vatn (2005) give the example of going to a shop, people typically think what is best to by for themself. A person then evaluates the price and quality of products offered. When shopping in a food store, price, quality and whether a product is healthy for us can be part of assessing the chosen product. However, some people will also put emphasis on the production methods and the environmental impact of a product, and base their choice on motives beyond selfishness.

4.1.1.2 Consumer Preference theory

The consumer preference theory rational approach above. This theory has taken four basic elements that makes the core argument for a consumers preference. First, is the available income of the consumer, secondly will be the markets prising set for goods, third is the taste and preference and last element is the assumption of “utility maximization” of a consumer (Jackson, 2005).

In “Motivating Sustainable Consumption” Jackson (2005) discuss several of the

assumptions in this theory that is important to put a light on also for this paper. The first thing

assumed rationality of a consumer's choice. But for a consumer to make the “best” rational choice for themself they must have the possession of all possible information available. That is, which product is really best for one’s own interest and to continue on to Jackson (2005) next point - they will also need to have information of all the available goods to choose from.

Therefore “rational” choses can only be obtained in the context of a perfect market information.

Another important thing to point out from individualistic theories/rational choice and consumer preference theory is that the actual preference or taste that contribute to a

consumers choice is not calculated in the frame of one rational model. The preferences here is revealed through the decisions made by the consumers in marketplace, and has therefore little alternatives to explain the nature, structure or origin of once preferences (Jackson, 2005). So when its comes to the question of influencing consumers behaviour, the consumer preference model and other individualistic models has a very narrow and simplistic view. Also the fact that it assume that there is no limits to desire consumers have for goods and services, that their want and needs is infinitive has got its share of criticism from other fields of studies regarding the topic.

4.1.1.3 Theory of reasoned Action and theory of planned behaviour

One theory drawing from a long tradition from social psychological work on the attitude- behaviour relationship is the theory of reasoned Action (TRA). It account for one of the most widely-applied theories of individual behaviour and come from the work of Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen in the late 1970s (Jackson, 2005). The model take on an approach that

behavior is determined by intention which is influenced by two variables: i) attitudes towards the behaviour and ii) the subjective norm. Two way of determine these attitudes involves

“behavior beliefs” and “attitude beliefs”.

This model have been used when examine pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) and a various of studies on this issue have conducted their basis on this theory. In the model, ones behaviour is determined solely by a consumer’s intention, and does not consider other types of influences. This limits the theory to only be used when the particular behavior is under volitional control, and if a person wants to conduct a behaviour - they might abandon it because of lack of money, knowledge, time or other reasons (Kurisu, 2015). For improving the limitations of the TRA, Icek Ajzen expanded on that notion an proposed the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Here new variables were introduced to the TRA model: perceived

behavioral control that represent the consumers perception of how much they can control the behaviour. A similar concept to this has been described in other literatures as “self-efficacy” - the believe in once own capacity to organize specific behaviour (Kurisu, 2015).

4.1.1.4 Means-end Chain theory

The Means-end Chain theory is a model that have been a popular tool in marketing research since the 80s. It takes its starting point with the idea that consumer behavior is, either

consciously or unconsciously goal-directed (consumers buy goods in order to achieve certain goals). The goals a person reside on according to the theory is in the sphere of overarching personal, social or moral values. The desire to be happy, to belong, feel useful, to protect family or other among some examples. These values are described as the “ends” and that consumers seek when purchasing something. The “means” to fulfil these ends, according to the theory, is described as attributes of the product a person buys (Jackson, 2005).

Means-end chain theory claims that people’s preferences can be constructed in term of a laddered sequence/relationship between a product’s attributes, the consequences (positive or negative) arousing/coming from these attributes and the relevance of these consequences for reaching important personal values (Veludo-de-Oliveira et al, 2006).

Jackson (2005) explain that this theory differs from the conventional consumer preference models (as the one described above) in two important ways. First, it provides a more qualitative exploration of consumer preference than the conventional model. Secondly, it does not assume that a person's preference is exclusive to a self-indulgent or self-centered for only maximization of one's utility. It rather attempts to identify both values that underlie consumers choices and the chains of reasoning - from values to specific choices by the attributes of products. This theory still remains a variation of rational choice model in the sphere of expectancy-value theory (doesn’t consider that the individual’s emotional state, personality, abilities, knowledge, skills and past experiences). But it has a more relaxed assumption than rational choice theory regarding values as self-interested and does not attempt to define a persons rationality in terms of optimisation. Something that is important when using means-end chain theory, is that it does assume that consumer decisions are rational when being goal-directed and driven by identifiable underlying values. Even though, the theory have been used in research (Jägel et al., 2012; Lundblad & Davies, 2016) and can provide a valuable tool for understanding pro-social or pro-environmental consumer

4.1.2 Social constructive approach

Social science and many other scholars have studied human attitudes towards the nature for several decades. Both social science and social-psychological models also assume an individual approach when it comes to human behaviour. But as the direction of many

critiques to rational choice and also what experience tells us, we are often also constrained by what other think, say or do in when making a choice.

It’s within theories in this field that bring human behavior and motivation to a social embedded significant behavior towards the environment. Theories within the social constructive field also suggest that behavioural change must occur at the collective, social level - here only individual change is not feasible or sufficient.

In the section below theories proposed specifically to explain prosocial behaviour will be examined. These theories do not look at pro-social behaviour from the viewpoint of each individual but take a much wider perspective and consider that pro-social behaviour is

something that is learned by every member of a society as part of a set of socialised norms.

These socialised norms are unwritten rules that tell us how to behave in various situations.

They are social guidelines, a set of norms or societal standards for behaviour that represent the consensus about which behaviours are acceptable and encouraged and those which are unacceptable and discouraged. Norm theorists consider that all norms are internalised through the socialisation process (Jackson, 2005).

4.2.1 Bounded Rationality

The rational choice theory and the idea of the “self-interested economic man” can be traced back to writings of influential economic thinkers such as Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill and is today deeply imbedded in many modern institutions. In the previous section, some assumption that the rational choice model is based on was listed, and for those reasons raised criticism on the rationality on cognitive- and sociological grounds, and the self-interest assumption on moral and epistemological grounds (Jackson, 2005).

Bounded rationality take in to account decision that the rational choice model is taken for granted. This is the cognitive limitations of the decision-maker - limitations of the knowledge actually available to a person making a decision and the calculation/ranking capacity of the best outcome when give all the information available (Simon, 1990).

4.2.2 Social Rationality

This approach challenge the “I” and the soley individual driven motivation behind rational choice theory further. As the later theory explains our selfless action in forms of extrinsic and intrinsic motivations - and there by still about the individual own utility (feeling good by doing good), the social rationality brings in reasoning about motivation for acting

“nicely/good” and the logic of doing what is right.

4.2.2.1 ”We” and ”they” Rationality

These forms of rationality concerns reflect on what principles should be followed in social context and demands commonly agreed rules. It also demands balancing own interest against the interest of others (Vatn, 2015). The “we” rationality in this case concern aspects of what is the right thing to do for the group. In this case rules or norms about the proper action is developed through communication. Vatn (2015) explains that this type of rationality can be observed when communities establish rules concerning what is accepted and what is expected of people in the group. For the case of “they” rationality it concerns what is right to do for others. In this rationality acts are described as altruistic. It can include everyday actions of people helping another person, even people they have no relationship, as a stranger. A “they”

rationality can be observed when a person chooses to reduce their own emissions and environmental impacts to protect the climate for future generations or species (ibid).

4.2.3 Norm-activation theory

Social psychology has developed a range of theoretical approaches to study pro- environmental behaviors (PEBs). In this section i will address Shalom Schwartz norm- activation theory that is considered one of the well-accepted and empirically supported theories of moral motivation and to understand prosocial and altruistic behaviors. (Turga et al, 2010).

The norm-activation theory is also one of the most often applied/invoked in rational choice models of environmental economics and therefore relevant for this pappers study to extend the narrow scope that rational choice theory and other individualistic approaches use when examine PEBs (Olbrich et al, 2011).

Norm-activation theory have been developed to understand our norms that can in a broad

ideal form of behavior which individuals in a social group try to adapt. Here norms is looked at as homogenous across individuals within that population. The second strand takes a focus on the nature of the individual norm, witch instead is viewed to be heterogeneous among peoples (Olbrich et al, 2011). The second strand is the one most important for this paper, reflecting on the individual differences and motivations from norms and this is also the strand that the norm-activation theory find it base/starting point.

The theory was developed for the purpose to explaining social behaviour, where a person's behavioural choices has consequences that will affect others. And later it has been extended and used to explain environmentally significant behaviour that also indirectly affect others; “[changing] the availability of materials or energy from the environment or [altering]

the structure and dynamics of ecosystems or the biosphere itself” (Stern, 2000). On this note, the theory has often been used in environmental psychological literature, but like mentioned also in some economic literature. In general these are not concepts used among economists (as norms fit badly in to the economic model and has to be translated into utility framework to fit). Both disciplines separates norms at two levels; social norms and personal norms. The social norms is described more as abstract or vague guidelines of how one should behave - but are still a shared view of a group. The personal norms Schwartz (1973) describes as

“expectations that people hold for themselves” that arise from social norms and are more concrete determinants of a persons behaviour - and that can be perceived different for each individual (Olbrich et al, 2011). One’s personal norms are also tied to a person’s self-image and can therefore be enforced through feelings such as guilt or pride (ibid).

A crucial aspect of the norm-activation theory is that the personal norms must be activated to influences and affect behaviour. In the theory Schwartz have proposed two preconditions for the personal norms to be activated; awareness of consequences (AC) and description of responsibilities (AR). For the first condition, awareness of consequences, a person must be aware that their action has consequences for the welfare of others for the norm to be activated. But the theory also acknowledge that the activation of a personal norm is not a sufficient condition for pro-environmental or social behaviour. The activated norm can still be “neutral” and have little or no effect on a person's actual behaviour, either because of denial of the consequences of one's actions on others or denial of their responsibilities to take a certain action. For this reason Schwartz (1973) outlines the steps (cognitive) involved in the moral decision making process of an individual. The first step is the one I’ve already discussed, the activation, this is then followed by obligation, defense and at last response. The activation step begins with awareness - that there is a need and that there is actions available

that can address that need. When a person then believes they have the ability to meet this need and assign responsibility in this matter to themself to take action towards it. Feeling of moral obligation get internalized du to this activation process (and becomes a part of a

personally held moral norm). Violation of this personal norm can ascribe a feelings of guilt or self-deprecation while meeting the norm can give result such as pride and enhanced self esteem. In this sense, meeting one’s personal norm gives a positive source of personal utility (Turga et al, 2010). But unlike rational choice theory and other standard economical models would argue, the personal utility is not the necessarily the reason for taking the action - it can instead be one’s attachments to the norm, and the importance in follow what you feel is the right. Because people have put different importance to particular values and norms the activation of a personal norm has different intensities of moral obligation in different people in the same situation of action. The more important a norm or a value associated to a specific action are to a person, the stronger the feeling of moral obligation to act will be (Turga et al, 2010).

Figure 2: Norm-activation theory Schwartz (1973)

Sustainability as a moral obligation is becoming a growing concern for the global world today. To offer undiminished life opportunities to future generations is a norm that explain a form of environmentally significant behavior as this behavior affects the well-being of future generations through changes in the environment (Olbrich et al, 2011). Defining sustainability in such a general way, this paper will address it as a social norm in the sense of the norm- activation theory. People can then thought to hold expectations for themself on how to act sustainable in specific situations. For example of this paper, people may actively choose to purchase their clothes in a Second-hand market rather than a normal retail store by knowing

4.2.4 Value-Belief-Norm theory

The value-belief-norm theory developed by Stern (2000) provides a framework to study factors that promote sustainable behaviors and attitudes. This theory combines the norm- activation theory and Schwartz value theory, together with the new environmental paradigm developed by Dunlap, Van Liere, Mertig & Jones (2000). The theory describes a chain of variables, from values and general environmental concerns, to more specific believes regarding negative consequences of actions and the individuals’ responsibility to these negative effects. This will then activate sustainable personal norms for a specific behavior.

Value types for this model is that is believed to be important regarding environmental belief and behavior are; biosphere, egoistic and altruistic values (Lind et al, 2015). The new

environmental paradigm builds on beliefs in the limits of growth and the necessity to balance economic growth with environmental protection (Dunlap et al, 2000).

Value-belief-norm theory also include Schwartz concept of awareness of consequences and ascription of responsibilities that activates the personal norms for PEBs.

5. Finding and Analysis

In this section of the paper I will present the major findings of this study. After accessing the data collection retrieved from the 23 consumers of second hand and the 3 interviews

conducted with people working with second hand, the coding was undertaken I various ways.

As Bryman (2016) mention, frameworks for a thematic analysis of qualitative data as being used for this study provides the researcher with one way of thinking how to manage themes and data. This does not always occur in a strict way in how to identify these themes, but instead show to a process that will “reflect the analyst’s awareness of recurring ideas and topics in the data” (Bryman, 2016, s:587).

As described in section 3.5 method of analysis I started to code the transcribed data form the interviews with help of the themes from the means-end-chain theory (attribute,

consequence and values). This helped me to get a clearer view in what values actually motivates the consumers to purchase second hand clothes and to identify 5 different “paths”

that was that was recurrent in several of the interviews. Since the means-end-chain theory goes in the more individualistic approach to describe consumer behaviors I also tried to code the data with focus on altruistic motivations, awareness and description of responsibility to get a broader aspect of motivations.

When analyzing all the transcribed data from the interviews I always tried to keep in mind the term of motivation and effects of shopping second hand so that the structure can help guiding answers to my research questions.

5.1 Pattern 1: Economic motivation and less buying/consumption practices

The first pattern I will start to present my findings within is concerning economic motivation of shopping second-hand clothes. Before conduction my interviews, I had assumptions that the economic reasons for shopping second-hand clothes would be one of the biggest drivers.

This was shown not to be the case. Even if many of the respondents mention it as being part of the reason they would seek a second-hand venue, it was not the most defined reason for it. 14 of the 23 interviews mention that economic motives were a part of the reason they shopped clothes second-hand and only 1 of the respondents answered that it was the main reason for shopping second-hand.

The most common economic reason I registered from the conducted interviews where not the cheap prize by itself, but value for the money they spent. That shopping clothes second-hand often got them better quality and specific pieces of clothes for a lower price.

When asking the respondents, the question about how they started to shop second-hand, a pattern appeared from some of the respondents that it started with economic reasons.

Respondent 6, 3, 12, 7, 9 and 14 all stated that when they were younger second hand was the option for them at that time to be able to get that special piece they otherwise would not afford as a new item from a normal store.

“It started already in my teenage years because I was very interested in clothes and fashion.

But I did not have the economy to by everything new always. When I was growing up Fast Fashion brands did not exist in the same wide range as it does today (Shopping at H&M was

something older ladies did). So, I started to visit flea markets and second hand stores like Fretex and UFF to get that levies jeans or a new cool t-shits. Today I would say the economic

motives are still there, but the main reason is to get something that I feel extra good about and that is a bit special” (respondent 6).

Respondent 3 also mention the economical spectra when growing up. But in contrast with respondent 6 that is 41 years old, respondent 3 is 26 years and mention the cheap and trendy clothes of Fast Fashion brands as being a part of the shopping routines as well.

“When i was poorer, and didnt have much money. Sometimes i would go for the cheaper option in a Fast Fashion retail store. So it really depends which situation you are in. But if i have the possibility - if I know and trust the brand, then I would go for the sustainable option.

I know sometimes brands use that just to sell a bit more.. I have this thing that I dont like to spend that much money at the same time. So if I have to spend for example 900kr for a dress

or 500kr for a dress - is always like, do I need it? do I want it? its a lot of money for me. I rather spend 200kr because knowing how much it cost to produce that kind of stuff is just - I

fell like im being cheated you know if I spend so much more”.

It was only one person that answered that the interest of getting a specific piece or brand did not have any reason for the economic aspect of shopping second-hand.

“It’s not about shopping a pricy brand for a cheaper price. I’m not at all interested in trends or brands when it comes to clothes. But still, it is definitely an economic aspect to why I shop clothes Second-hand. I try to save money in general and reflect about my purchases. It should

be something I been thinking about for a while before I go and purchase it. I got this

“wishing-list” on my phone where I write down things I want and need. I even wrote down

new shoelaces for my shoes. So if I feel the need for shopping something by impulse, I have a rule that I should cheek my list first” (respondent 18).

When razing the question of economic perspectives for shopping second hand to the interviewers that are working with second-hand, they mention a shift in second hand markets the last 5-10 years. The aspect of doing a “bargain” and to get good quality for a lower price is associated with second hand. Respondent 5 that works with the Fashion Archives marked have notice a shift in the clothing available second-hand. She explains that you still can find pieces that normally is in a high price range for a good and cheaper price, but the fast turnover of clothes today from normal retail stores also is common to find second-hand today. These clothes that is in the “standard” price range does not have the same level of price drop as compare to the original price in the store – because it is so cheap already from the start. “When buying a piece of clothes from H&M Second hand, consumers probably think more about the sustainable aspect of buying something used than something new rather than quality and doing a bargain” (Respondent 5).

Tangled in the question of the economic aspect of shopping second-hand clothing, I found that the wish to consume less and to shop in a more “smart” manner was something that was mentioned through most parts of the interview I conducted.

” In genreal I try not to shop that often. So i dont have for example that I by stuff once a month. I try to only buy things if I need then. Once every 2 month maybe - if there is a Fashion Aarchive or something like that - but its pretty much when I need stuff i seek these venues.” (Respondant 6).

5.2 Pattern 2: Environmental and social justice concerns

The second pattern from my coding and the stimulating map address second-hand consumers concern for the environment and social justice. The different concepts creating the pattern for this chapter can to some extent cross boarders, and the attribute, consequences and values overlap. This is the case of the environmental and social justice pattern, as it addresses attributes and consequences both from 5.1 and 5.3.

This is the pattern that came out to be the most dominated in terms of concepts on attribute and values. Here environmentally friendly and long lasting as attributes for second hand clothes and it’s consequences to reduce waste highlight strong values of protecting the

When asking the question about the main reason the respondents choose to shop second hand, a lot of the respondents addressed the environment and social cost of production of clothes.

”It’s very much environmental reasons actually, because I think the fast fashion form of industry is just very poisonous. All of the way from the supply chain - and just not good for the environment”. (Respondent 13).

Similar answers were given by respondent 6: “I think about the pieces lifetime, how much and how long it can be used. Is it made with good material, is it produced good, will it handle a lot of washes and if it’s possible to repair if needed. Another very important aspect for me is the way of the production, the working conditions of the employees and the environmental footprint of the production site”.

Repeatedly thought out my interview the focus on circularity and the possibility for a product that you buy will come to use is mentioned. Concerns about clothes ending up on landfills and into normal waste is stated as a concern by the majority of my respondents.

In a previous study by Yan, Bae & Wu (2015) findings show that second-hand markets will have meaningful effects on environmental impacts. The markets will help to reduce a consumer demand for new goods if the supply of used items is available. This is backed up by another study conducted in Scandinavia, where data was collected from 200 consumers.

This data explored that around 60 products out of 100 would be reused, and therefore help to reduce clothes negative impact on the environment (Farrant et al, 2010).

Findings for my interviews points at the same direction, as many of my respondents said that after started shopping at second-hand markets or stores, they had less and less need for shopping at a normal retail store. Shopping second-hand also encouraged them to sell or donate clothes they no longer had any use for.

A clear goal of “protecting the environment” and take a responsibility to reduce their own negative environmental impact is something that motivates the respondents in this study.

In line with Schwartz (1973) norm-activation theory, the increased global focus on human activities negative environmental impacts has contribute to a greater awareness than for just 10 years ago. When discussing this with the respondents working with second hand, they stated that the awareness of environmental consequences has shifted the interest for second hand clothing’s. Today, many people visiting the markets does it to take on responsibility in a way they see they can contribute. “In these days second-hand markets and store is looked at in a different way than only 10 years ago. Before, second hand was more connected to economic sphere and making a good bargain. Now doing something good for the

environment is something that more and more people reflect on and therefore to shop second hand today has a different meaning than before” (Respondent 21).

Finding from my interviews show that the preference of second-hand consumers in this study for environmental attributes is also motivated by the concern of the humankind. “To provide for future generations” show an environmental related value with a more

anthropocentric focus. As stated by respondent 14: “I wish for future generation not to have that many problems with the environment or to allow creativity to tackle that. Even if it means a lot of changes in the future”.

For the respondent to further elaborate the values of this I followed up with the question why this is important for her? ”Because when I get older I want to be proud of the era I been a part of. I want to be able to tell my grandchildren that my generations saw the problems and tackled them, instead of looking the other way for the sake of profit.” (Respondent 14).

This motivation for consumption and action falls in line with the theory of social rationality, and a “they” rationality. It built on an act that is altruistic and focus on what is right to do for others.

5.3 Pattern 3: Anti Fast Fashion and mass production

In this section the pattern that reflect the respondent’s feeling and thoughts of avoiding the business of fast fashion and the externalities that comes with mass production and

consumption. Throughout my interview the respondents criticize and therefore tried to resist the consumption driven society. Here by rejecting fast fashion stores and turn to reuse and recycling clothes instead of buying new items.

The rejection of fast fashion clothes is based on the concerns addressed in the previous sections; negative environmental externalities of the industry, lack of quality of the clothes being produced and also social justice concerns.

Within this pattern the aspect of consumers’ social concern was addressed. Some of the respondents had concerns with wage and working conditions for the people working in manufacturing of clothing. Majority of the respondents addressed the aspect of avoiding exploitation of others. The consumers of second-hand clothes in this study seek to avoid feelings of guilt that they associate with bad working conditions in the clothing industry. The

respondents expressed this further by wanting to live up to their altruistic values of equality and social justice.

I will give a few examples here when asking the respondents what they think when they hear the world fast fashion:

“I think about garbage, a modern way of slavery and environmental degradation. It’s a chase after consumers, designers, producers – all in the cheapest forms possible. Unsustainable, is what it is. It will only contribute to consumption way over the line of what is actually needed.

I think there is many people out there that suffers from “fast fashion hangovers.”

(Respondent 9).

“I only get a bad feeling in my guts when I think about fast fashion. How bad people get paid and the situation of their working conditions is hard for us in Western countries to really understand, and therefore relate to. When people are working themself to death for the sake of me being able to by a clothing for a ridicules cheap price, something is definitely wrong with this business model.”

A genuine mistrust about fast fashion companies is also found when analyzing the data retrieved for this study. 19 out of the 23 respondents expressed feelings of not trusting fast fashion companies in their work to become more sustainable. The term of “greenwashing”

was discussed among respondent’s and their believes that the world sustainable is often being misused within this line of industry.

” I believe we have means to change and I think because of the monopoly those companies already have in that industry - they control to much in the supply chain. Therefore it’s

difficult to do anyting about it. And it seems like you dont have a choice, or you have a choice that they present, and I do not really trust them with that. For example, H&M is telling me that they are sustainable - I just dont believe that. How can you explain that part of your collection is sustainable and the other one is not, that doesn't make sense even. You are either sustainable or your not. You can not just have a small part that you call sustainable and you don't care about the rest of the collections being produced.” (Respondent 18).

Other respondents state that they get very enjoyed by the “greenwashing” tend and the small environmental responsibility that only try to make the truth look more flattering. “How can I take the company seriously when they half of their webpage say repair and sustainable collections and the other half screams of 70% sale and new arrivals.” (Respondent 4).

Also, in line with this pattern the respondents express the dislike of the mass production and consumption society this business model follows. Experience of the stress and discomfort to many material things gives them is highlighted through many of the interviews. Some of the